Mayhem in Mexico
by The Pigeon One
Summary: I'll bring her back." But what does that mean? After the Titans return from Tokyo, Robin decides to take the Titans on vacation that Raven doesn't want. But as Raven well knows, things change, and people fall in love when they never meant to.
1. Villa

I'm just going to say this now and get it out of the way – my Spanish is horrible. I have taken Spanish all four years of my public high school education and I still can't speak the damn language! But with that being said, ignore how the Mexicans who will appear in this story later speak _no _Spanish, like, ever. Sort of like no one ever spoke Japanese in Trouble in Tokyo.  
Also, yes, I know. I left this world a long time ago. But when Cartoon Network continually plays Teen Titans reruns, and so does Boomerang, you start to reform old plot ideas. So yay for you. And boo for me, coz I've got college apps and crap to work on. Yeah, that's my excuse.

**Mayhem in Mexico**

"I'll bring her back."

I'll bring her back.

But what did that even _mean_?

Lives had been at stake. And not just any lives, not the lives of civilians and unknown people they would never meet. No, only three particular lives were at stake if he had failed in his mission. But instead of staying with those lives, of making sure they didn't have they same fate as the rest of the world befall them, he had gone after her, knowing that if he didn't save her, if he didn't bring her back the world would be lost. Forever.

But he had brought her back, had saved her, and, in return, she had saved the world. No casualties. No one was hurt. She pulled the world through its darkest time, even if no one but her four closest friends knew it.

"You don't realize it, Raven, but you're the most hopeful person I know."

My ass.

If I'm the most hopeful person you know, Robin, why do I feel like I'm going to be the little old lady with eighteen cats and no romantic life? She asked herself. If I'm so hopeful, why do I feel like you ripped my heart into tiny little pieces? Why do I feel like you're dancing, joyous, around my funeral pyre?

Or was that last part Starfire?

It seemed like it was hard to tell these days.

But what was harder was living with Robin and his newly appointed beau. It was always 'Robin, I love you' this, 'Starfire, you're so beautiful' that. It made Raven want to cover her ears with her hands and sing la, la, la, I'm not listening like a toddler.

But worse, none of this was like Raven. She simply _didn't do_ this kind of stupid infatuation. She had known Robin for years; why did she all of a sudden have these feelings for him? He had saved her multiple times in the past. Why was it so different this time?

Raven knew the answer – he hadn't just saved her life; he had saved her soul as well. And that bonds two people like nothing else. Whether or not Raven liked it or not, she was bonded doubly to Robin now. She could do nothing about it.

And now, after the whole Tokyo ordeal, Robin wanted to go on a real vacation in Mexico. Raven saw several problems with this. 'What happened to "heroes don't take vacations", Robin?' she thought. And why force me to go?

Because Robin had. He had forced them all to go, except for the rest of the Titans it was exciting to go on vacationing. Raven, of course, had been against the whole thing from the start. "Have fun," she said. "Tell me how it went when you get back."

She had tried to walk out of the room, but Robin stopped her by grabbing her arm. "No, Raven, you have to go with us." He said sternly. He smiled. "Think of it as a sort of family vacation."

So now Raven was standing above her suitcase, ready to tear her hair out. She had no clothes other than her leotards and capes, and one pair of old and abused jeans that she wore when it got colder. She had nothing appropriate for a Mexican beach vacation. Worse, she knew that this meant – shopping.

She contemplated this briefly. She couldn't ask Robin or Starfire. Starfire wouldn't have minded, but Robin would have insisted on tagging along, and that would not serve Raven's purpose at all. Beast Boy would be a nuisance. That left Cyborg. Raven knew that he would have been the best choice, even if Robin and Starfire weren't together. Whenever Raven went shopping with Starfire, the latter made Raven try on everything that was pink or otherwise far too girly. No, Raven was right to pick Cyborg. Picking him would make the trip much less painful.

And she was right. Raven got her shopping done much more quickly than she would have if she had taken anyone else besides Robin. She was now the not so proud owner of several plain t – shirts in various colors, a new pair of jeans, a brown sweater, a pair of yoga pants and a pair of shorts, three various shirts, and a pair of cropped blue jeans, and was now packing them in her suitcase, along with two leotards and three cloaks and, Azar help her, a bikini.  
'At least I don't plan on using it,' Raven thought. She couldn't bear her body being compared to Starfire's. The red - headed alien would defiantly win that competition.

But Raven sighed and put it in her suitcase anyway. They were going to be leaving soon, and, as much as she didn't want to go, she hated being late.

On her way downstairs, as the elevator clicked, Raven was pensive. After everything she had gone through with her father and the end of the world, she had finally been allowed to _feel_. That was something she hadn't been used to. Though her powers were still mostly fuelled by her emotions, they weren't entirely ruled by them. More than once, Raven wondered if maybe she had always had feelings for Robin, and only after she had started allowing herself to be more emotional did she realize it. But as soon as she thought it, she pushed it away, crushed it. There was no way.

On the outside, Raven was the same person – quiet, shy, seemingly cold. But on the inside she burned. On the inside she felt, she cried, she was heartbroken. Robin had seemed like her knight – in – shining – armor when, in reality, he was Starfire's all along. It was Starfire sitting behind him on his shining white horse, beaming, her beautiful red hair flowing behind her.

Raven touched her nearly shoulder length locks. She had always kept it short; doing so kept her hair from getting in her way during a fight. And purple? What was she thinking? And just like that, her hair was black, as it had been before she had left Azarath for Earth. The length would have to wait; she couldn't just will hair in and out of existence.

"What's gotten into me?" she wondered out loud. 'Robin wasn't ever everything.', this time to herself. 'He still isn't anything'. She was lying to herself and she knew it.

"Come on, Raven, it's not going to be so bad."

Raven crossed her arms across her chest and snorted. "Yeah, right, Cyborg. This is my _exact _idea of fun. I'm so excited I can even contain it."

Cyborg laughed at Raven's sarcasm. "Really, it's not gonna be so bad. Robin rented a little Mexican villa right on the bayou and it's got a great view."  
"What do you expect, Vic? I don't like this kind of thing. I enjoy being who I really am, and being a beach bum _isn't_ me."

Cyborg leaned over a touched Raven's newly black hair. "Is that why you changed you're hair, Rae? Because that's 'really you'?"

"Hey, don't judge. It's unbecoming."

Cyborg chuckled again. "Really, Raven, you shouldn't worry. Just because you don't want to go doesn't mean it's going to be awful. It's a nice villa; you could just take a book and just hole up in your room."

Cyborg had been kidding, but Raven took it to heart. It wouldn't be a bad idea, and it meant that, after she had done her exploring, she could hide, away from the others questioning glances. She had had enough after the hair incident. And, because of her natural curiosity, she would want to explore, and this would satisfy Robin. 'Everybody wins' she thought.

By the time the Titans had rented a car in Texas and driven to the Mexican border, Raven had had an argument with Beast Boy over cars, tried to ignore Starfire, glared at Robin for forcing this on her. She was now asleep, and dreaming.

_Raven walked underneath a natural stone bridge close to the villa, her black hair up in a ponytail, her long, ankle length black skirt swishing as she walk. The water was beautiful, a clear blue reflecting the beautiful sunset. She was hot and sweaty from her exploration on the nearby Mexican country side, and the water looked cool and good for swimming. Tentatively, she stuck her foot in the clear water. Deeming it safe, she slowly submerged herself until she was almost waist deem if water. It felt good._

_Suddenly, Raven was aware of footsteps in the surrounding woods. Her ears perked, trying to determine the direction the footsteps were coming from. She quickly turned to her left, and was about to summon her powers when she realized that it was Robin.  
"Raven?" he asked surprised to see her wait deep in water, her long skirt floating delicately on the surface. Raven's face was tinted pink. _

_Robin looked confused. "Why are you… um, swimming?" _

_Raven looked up at Robin's waiting (and still masked) eyes. For the first time, she noticed that he was shirtless and wearing swimming trunks. "I was exploring, Bird Boy." She told him, heavy sarcasm lacing her voice._

_Robin chuckled. "That doesn't answer my question, Bird _Girl_," he taunted. _

_His teasing made Raven's cheeks flush deeper. _

_"Make a connection there, Rick?" she said, using his real name and splashing him lightly to ease the tension in her stomach._

_Seemingly uncaring, Robin stepped right into the water splashing Raven, successful in soaking the rest of her body. Raven, smiling, sent a thick black wave of water crashing over Robin's head, sending his hair flat on his head. The two kicked and splashed with each other for about an hour when…_

Raven was startled as Cyborg shook her awake. "Rae, we're here," his gentle voice told her. Groggily, Raven rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and practically rolled out of the car.

When she was finally awake enough to see, she realized that someone – probably Cyborg – had courteously placed her luggage on the ground for her. She mentally thanked him and picked her suitcase up.

Only to drop it when she saw the beautiful villa in front of her.

It was astounding, built it the Spanish ranch style, of course, with only one story. But there was a certain charm about it, something Raven hadn't expected. Her imagination had come up with a little shack that was barely inhabitable. Seeing this beautiful and true villa was like a shock of venom to her system.

'He probably spent too much money on it,' Raven thought, thinking about the amount of money Robin had spent on their little vacationing house. 'He probably spent to much on the entire vacation.'

Raven loved her room. It was the farthest back from the communal living room, and very cozy. Actually, if she was honest with herself, she loved the whole villa. It was as beautiful inside as it was outside, and homey like Titans Tower could never be. After all, the Tower was almost nothing more than headquarters. It was home, but in a forced sort of way. The Tower, apart from each individual's bedroom, was impersonal and without homey touches.

It was very, very different here. Raven hated to admit it because it meant Robin had won, but she was actually glad to be here. The villa was small, but then again, Raven had never been one for pomp and circumstance. She loved it, felt at home from the very moment she stepped foot in it.

The only thing she though would make it better was a lack of a Starfire/Robin relationship. But that was just her opinion.

Later that day, Raven had made herself at home and was sitting on her bed reading when she heard a knock on her wooden door, a sound she was not used to, since all the doors at Titans Tower were metallic. She got up and answered the door to find Robin standing in the hallway.

"Hey," he said awkwardly.

"Hi?" Raven replied, rather baffled as to why her leader was paying her a visit.

"Can I come in?" he inquired, and without a word, Raven moved aside to let him in, and silently closed the door behind him.

"Did you want something?" Raven asked as she sat next to Robin on the bed. He looked sheepish.

"Well, yeah. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for making you come on this vacation. I know you didn't want to come."

Raven smiled and put her hand on Robin's shoulder. "Don't worry about, Boy Blunder. It's nice here. I'm _almost_ glad I came," she lied. "Almost."

Robin, sighing dramatically for effect, smiled. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were going to roast me alive!"

Raven playfully pushed him to the side. "Oh, shut up, you know I never would. You're my best friend."

Robin smirked. "Always?"

Smiling warmly, Raven nodded. "Always."

XXX

So that ends this chapter. I really felt like there wasn't enough of a Robin presence here, so I added Raven's dream. That and I needed a longer chapter. But I hope you enjoyed! Review and I just might update soon!


	2. Brick By Boring Brick

So, as I went over and reread the last chapter, I realized that I'd almost established Raven's relationship with Robin as cheesy and unbelievable. That's going to change this chapter – they aren't going to be so 'life is all flowers and butterflies'. In this chapter I'm really going to go in to more depth about just how strained their relationship really is. Raven's really quite pessimistic, not matter what the situation. But as I progress through writing the story, she's going to progress as a character and her personality is going to undergo some fairly radical change.

Also, I'm working on doing a playlist that inspires me as I write. Music for this chapter is Brick by Boring Brick by Paramore. As for last chapter, I don't even remember what I was listening to, so I'll only be able to do playlists from now on. And it won't always happen coz I'm mad forgetful.

**Mayhem in ****Mexico**

**Chapter 2**

Raven slept well that night. For once in her life, she felt at ate ease, like the simple act of being wasn't a burden. Here, she wasn't a hero; she was just another girl on vacation. She was free to just relax. No one was robbing a bank and expecting her and her friends to come take care of the situation. Raven was able to simply sit back and be herself, read her book without fear of the alarm going off and interrupting the best part.

No, she already had a spiky haired punk of a best friend for that.

"Robin, by the powers that be, what do you want!" she yelled at the boy on the other side of the door, growing steadily more exasperated as the seconds went by. Being interrupted was not her idea of fun.

Gingerly, Robin opened the door and peeked his head inside. "Hey," he said diplomatically. "We're going out for lunch, you want to come?"

Sighing, Raven slid a bookmark in her book. "That depends," she said motioning for Robin to come and sit. "Where are we going and what are we eating?"

"Well, we _are_ in Mexico, so I was thinking we should get Chinese." He replied sarcastically, settling in next to Raven on the bed.

Raven rolled her eyes, her face otherwise stoic. "I was just checking, Bird Brain. I don't really want to have to listen to Beast Boy moan about being served meat, and Mexicans defiantly do not eat strictly vegetarian. I think I'll pass."

Raven wasn't being rude – she was simply telling the truth. She dealt with Beast Boy enough at home. But Robin thought she wasn't really being fair. "It's part of the experience, Raven. Come on, you should go."

Raven shook her head, finally turning towards Robin. "This is a vacation, Robin, and one, I might remind you, I was forced to take. If you're going to make me go on vacation, I'm going to make sure it's as stress free as possible. That means I don't want to hear Beast Boy's whining, and includes leaving me well enough alone when I don't want to do something."

"Raven, you're being unreasonable." Robin told her. "You're not even going to consider it."

"That's not true," she countered. "I would have willingly gone if we were really going out for Chinese. But we're not. Like I said, you just don't know how to leave well enough alone."

Robin sighed, exasperated. Raven was his friend – his best friend in even the worst of situations – but she was very difficult to deal with when she decided to be thick headed. There was little chance of being able to convince Raven to go unless Beast Boy was excluded from the outing.

Robin had to admit, leaving Beast Boy at the villa sounded sorely tempting. The little green changeling _did_ tend to grate on Robin's nerves with the whole tofu vs. meat argument. But was it fair to treat one Titan with more respect than another? Was it fair to treat a _friend_ with more respect than another?

"Raven, be reasonable, please?" Robin beseeched his best friend.

Raven sighed, obviously irked by Robin's persistence. "You know, I'm quite capable of cooking for myself. I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this."

Robin looked at Raven disbelievingly. "Raven, you cook horribly. Need I remind you?"

In a playful manner that was also deathly serious, as only she could pull off, Raven smacked Robin's arms. Those were events better off left unspoken of. Remembering the day before the end of the world wasn't exactly pleasant. "Shut up Robin. You've only had my cooking once. You don't have any idea what you're talking about." It was both a warning and a simple statement of truth.

Robin again looked at Raven cynically. He didn't believe that her cooking wasn't honestly horrible, that it had been just that one time. "Rae, you can't cook. That's just it."

Truly growing angered now, Raven got up and walked over to the dresser on the other side of the room to put away her book, rising to Robin's unspoken challenge. It was only then that Robin noticed what she was wearing – or rather, what she wasn't. Instead of donning her usual leotard and cloak, she was wearing a loose fitting forest green t – shirt that seemed to hint subtlety at what Robin was somehow just realizing was a very womanly figure and a pair of dark washed skinny jeans.

Growing embarrassed at his lack of tact, Robin looked at Raven's pale bare feet instead of her face as she sat back down next to him.

"You know, Bird Boy, I'm just as stubborn and hard headed as you are. You know just as well as the next Titan that you should never, ever challenge me. You should know by now that I always win."

Her smile was sly and almost nonexistent, but Robin noticed. It was Raven's very, very subtle way of telling Robin he was in for it. "I didn't challenge you, Raven," he said, almost trying to convince himself.

Raven cocked her eyebrow, letting her body language to speak for her. Robin, knowing her so well, knew exactly what it meant.

Trying to simmer Raven down and make her inadvertently back down, he said, "Look at us, Rae; we're turning into Cyborg and Beast Boy."

Raven saw where he was going; she wasn't fooled in the slightest. "Can it Robin. I'm not going out for lunch. I'm cooking, and I promise you that it's not going to suck like you seem to think it will. You can either stay here and eat what I make or go out with the other three. I honestly don't care which you choose, but one way or another, I'm going to cook, and you will eventually eat it."

Sighing loudly, upset at himself for letting things get well out of hand, threw his hands up in defeat. "I swear, Raven, sometimes arguing with you is like arguing with myself in the mirror!"

Raven shot the Boy Wonder a self-satisfied grin. "Oh, I'm sure you'd make more progress with the mirror, Robin. I'm sure." Robin didn't doubt it.

An hour later, everyone in the villa was shocked. The Titans had lived with Raven for a good many years – they knew her as well as anyone short of her own kin. She was stubborn and aloof, and it wasn't a secret.

But apparently it was a secret that she could cook.

Before them was their lunch, but it wasn't small. Raven had gone all out, as if she were cooking dinner instead of an intimate lunch with friends.

And not only that, but it was so inherently _not_ Raven. She didn't go around doing these sort of things.

Cyborg, ever the big brother, watched Raven as she cooked. He had to admit, she looked good, better than she ever had in the past. Her black hair suited her better, Cyborg decided. And, with the exception of her piercing amethyst eyes that could almost be called blue, she looked like a perfectly normal teenaged girl. Something had changed in his quiet and almost reclusive friend. I became her.

Or, at least, that was what he thought until Starfire walked in the room and gave Robin a quick peck on the lips and took his hand. Cyborg instantly noticed the change in Raven's behavior; he could tell that Starfire's appearance had made her tense. Raven's muscles had suddenly become taut and strained, like she objected strongly to something she dare not speak about.

But Cyborg put aside these thoughts when Raven came up to him with a plate of steaming chicken tacos. His eyes went wide as the smell of his lunch assaulted his senses. It smelled wonderfully – something, he was guilty to admit, he had not expected. He briefly recalled the disastrous breakfast conjuncture. Since then, Raven had not cooked, but he assumed it was because she could not and, after trying once, had given up.

Of course, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was stupid for thinking that. Raven was just as unyielding and bullheaded, if not more so, than Robin, who was known for his unmovable disposition. Since she had failed at cooking, she would have taken it up almost as a hobby, just to prove to herself that she could do it. That's probably the reason none of us would have known, Cyborg thought to himself. She didn't need to prove anything to the Titans; it was only herself she was concerned about disproving.

"Geez, Rae, when'd you learn to cook?"

Raven shrugged characteristically. That's my girl, thought Cyborg. He didn't like not knowing what was going on with Raven.

But Raven herself didn't know what was going on inside her mind. There was a flurry of emotions not only in her mind but in her heart. One moment, she felt completely relaxed, at peace, and then the next she was cold and aloof, wanting no interaction with anyone.

Although, she did notice that these moments tended to happen when she encountered Robin and Starfire together.

Which, she noted, was now. She tried busying herself with the cleanup from the cooking. But she couldn't turn off her astonishing senses. In her peripheral vision, she saw Starfire and Robin beginning a make – out session. Inhaling sharply, Raven tried to ease her now suddenly very tense muscles. She rolled her head back to ease the tension she felt in her neck. When she turned around and the couple were still tightly wrapped around each other, she rolled her eyes. "Do you mind?" she asked suddenly, and the two broke apart. "Really. If you're going to be doing that, please go somewhere else."

She severely hoped that the desperate edge in her voice was just something she was imaging and not something the rest of the Titans had noticed.

"Dude, Raven, what's your damage? They're _together_."

With a swiftness that would scare most people and was reminiscent of the Batman, Raven turned with angry eyes to Beast Boy.

"I don't recall asking your opinion, Beast Boy. Go bother someone else." She growled.

Beast Boy's eyes grew round with fear, but he did not back down, suddenly feeling honor bound to speak up for his love stricken friends. "But I'm gonna give it anyway! Get off their case!"

Raven recoiled from Beast Boy as if he'd slapped her. Under normal circumstances, Beast Boy would be terrified of Raven in her current state. That in itself staggered Raven; she was wholeheartedly used to being feared by Beast Boy. Even in his most brave moments involving her, the green teenager had not been in her presence, and was simply gossiping then. And even then he had been conservative in what he was saying to his company, fearing that if he spoke too ill of her, she would find out, and thus make him endure things he didn't even want to know about.

So his sudden outburst of courage literally stung Raven as if her green friend had smacked her square in the face. It felt like suddenly the whole world was turning upside down and all her friends were turning on her.

With all eyes on her, Raven turned on her heel and marched back to her room, pausing only to share a second long meaningful look with Cyborg.

"Dude, what's up with her?" spoke Beast Boy, the expression on his face a cross between anger and indignation.

Robin, pulling away from Starfire, looked crossly at Beast Boy. "You shouldn't have goaded her like that, Beast Boy. You know she didn't want to come in the first place; she's probably just really stressed."

"Really stressed!" Beast Boy exclaimed, all his pent up agitation at Raven flowing freely. "Well, I for one have had enough of it! She gets all pushy for no reason, and she's acting super weird! Since when can she cook?"

Cyborg, quiet through the whole argument, stood up and put his now clean plate in the sink for washing, and spoke. "Just leave her alone, B," he said, warning Beast Boy. "This has been the first time since you – know – what – happened that she's really been free to let go. What with the Brotherhood of Evil and all, she hasn't had time to stop and think."

Cyborg's words made Beast Boy hush, and take them into consideration. "I guess that makes sense." He paused, only to think of something else. "But she still shouldn't act like that!"

Cyborg hit his forehead with his hand. "Just let it be, Beast Boy. She's under enough emotional stress as is."

"Whatever," he murmured in reply.

Raven looked up from her book for the second day because someone was at her door. "If you're name is Beast Boy, I'm not interested. Otherwise come in."

Quietly, Cyborg stole in to the room and shut the door behind him. "I think we need to have a conversation, Sunshine," he said, using his pet name for her for when they were having private conversations.

Raven frowned. "I'm afraid to ask."

Cyborg sat on the foot of the bed, a few inches from where Raven's bare feet rested. "You've gotta be more careful about your body language, Rae. I can't pretend I know why, but I picked up on your antagonism when Starfire walked in the room."

Raven looked down at her feet, her hair covering the look on her face, a blush threatening her cheeks. "I'll keep that in mind, Cyborg. Thank you."

"You gonna tell me why?"

Raven looked up at Cyborg and met his eyes. "This is all too new to me. I'd rather not. At least, not yet."  
Cyborg smiled. "Alright. When you're ready, Rae."

XXX

So, this chapter didn't actually show the meaner side of Raven I meant it to. But forgive me, my wrist started to hurt and I was in a rush to get it done and up. I hope you enjoy. If it was a good enough chapter, please review! Even if it wasn't, review and tell me what to fix!


	3. Swimming

Hahaha, you thought I'd abandoned this story! Well, I didn't, and I've got some ideas floating around, but don't expect this to be a long story. It's not. It was never planned that way, even when I had it outlined. Anyway, enjoy this. I'm hoping to get Raven back into character in this, but I keep saying that and it never happens. Let me know what you think at the end.

Mayhem in Mexico

Chapter 3

It was too damn _hot_ to do anything, Raven thought. She sat on her bed with the lights off looking up at the ceiling fan rotate round and round, wondering why it seemed to not having any effect on the ridiculous heat.

The past few days, it had at least been mild. The humidity had been bad, but, though Raven hated feeling like she could drink the air, humid weather, as long as it was temperate, wasn't so bad.

Today, though? It had gotten beyond what Raven had thought was tolerable. Robin had come to her door several times, asking her to do this or that activity, and she had looked at him each time, declaring he was insane if he thought that she was going to do anything but sit around in such heat.

The resounding knock on her door this time promised to be Robin again, asking her to go to some amusement park or supermarket with him and the others. Sighing, she vaulted up and answered the door with the most annoyed expression she could muster.

"Before you ask, Robin," she said, stoic, "No. It's too hot."

He smiled at her, his blue eyes sparkling, maskless in the face of the fun of being on vacation in a spot where no one knew who they were.

"We're going swimming, if you want to join," he told her, despite the fact that she had just told him that she wasn't going to do anything but sit in her air-conditioned room and pretend she wasn't somewhere ten inches behind in rain with a heat that could fry an egg on the sidewalk.

She was tempted for a moment. After all, it _was_ hot, and swimming would definitely fix that problem. On the other hand, she knew Starfire was going to be there, and she didn't want to constantly be compared to the pretty alien, even if the comparisons weren't being spoken aloud.

"No," she finally decided. "Me and bathing suits really don't mix."

"Well, you brought one, didn't you?" Robin asked, and Raven felt like he was questioning her mental stability.

She glanced at the closet where she had stuffed the bikini in the farthest corner, hoping that she could leave it there and simply forget about it. She considered lying to Robin, but she knew that he would be able to tell.

So, Raven sighed. "Yes, I brought one."

"So what's the problem?"

It was Raven's turn to look at Robin like _he_ was mentally unstable. "You have met me, right? Surely you've realized by now that I don't like swimming in front of others."

Robin had once caught her taking a late night swim on the roof in a t-shirt and shorts, something the amused him every time he thought about it. She could see it on his face, that amusement, and she barely refrained from hitting her forehead with her palm.

"Please, let's not revisit that embarrassing incident." She implored. "It was bad enough then,"

Robin smiled devilishly at her. "Well, I didn't tell anybody. Which, after the shock of seeing you swimming in a _white_ t-shirt, is pretty amazing, I have to say."

Raven rolled her eyes. "It was like three in the morning. You can't say you don't do the same thing."

"I can honestly say that I have never gone swimming in the wee hours of the morning. You can't say the same thing."

Raven was very tempted to smack Robin, and he could tell. He smirked at her, as if daring her to contradict him, making her want to hit him all the more.

"Azar, Richard, you really make me want to smack you."

His smirk turned into a full out grin and he leaned against the side of the door. "I tend to have that effect on you, I've noticed."

This time, she couldn't help it. He palm hit her forehead with a _slap_ sound, overwhelmed with her best friend. "I'm not going swimming, Rick. It's just not going to happen."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a fun kill?"

Raven's face was blank as she answered "Yes" and then shut the door in Robin's face.

XXX

Robin knew that he wasn't the only one who had noticed Raven's changes in, well, everything. Cyborg had mentioned something to her, he was sure of it, and they had all been there when Beast Boy had yelled at her.

But for the life of him, Robin just couldn't figure out what her problem was. He had been through his fair share of personality changes, but he had never acted the way Raven was now.

Of course, he had only been Batman's sidekick (nothing big, right?) and not a portal, end of the world bringing daughter of a demon, unable to feel her emotions until her father was sent back to where he came from. He guessed that that allowed for some leeway in Raven's behaviour, but…

She had never been so vicious.

Robin had his theories about why she was behaving the way she was, and all of them basically came down to the fact that Trigon was gone. She wasn't used to the onslaught of emotions she could now allow to roam free, and, as a result, she was responding the only way she knew how – scathingly.

Robin wasn't usually the kind to joke around or talk excessively. That was something his time with Batman had taught him. Batman had always said he was ridiculously chatty, but "ridiculously chatty" to Batman was what any normal person would call stoic.

Things, for whatever reason, where different when he was with Raven. It was like both of the façades that Raven and Robin put on around the others peeled away when they were together, like they were just two teenagers, two best friends, having a normal conversation.

On occasion, Robin wondered why he didn't feel that way around any of the others, and Starfire in particular. After all, Starfire was his girlfriend, and if he felt like himself around anyone, it should be the kind alien girl, shouldn't it?

Robin ran his hand through his hair, unable to find the answer. He hoped that he could find the answer in Starfire's presence, without voicing his concerns out loud.

It wasn't like he didn't find solace in Starfire – he did. And, if pressed, he would even admit that he loved her. Because he did. He loved spending time with her, and he was more relaxed with her than he was with most people.

More relaxed with her than most people, except Raven.

That was the baffling part. Raven was his best friend, and Starfire his girlfriend, but all too often, Robin though that best friend and girlfriend should be the same thing, and he wouldn't not call Starfire his best friend by any stretch of the imagination.

But he loved her, right?

He walked out of the house towards the swimming pool and saw Starfire there in her black bikini. Oh yeah, he loved her.

And then he saw Raven.

She was standing demurely next to Starfire, her black hair tucked behind her ear as she looked down into the water. She was wearing a light purple bikini, her gray t-shirt discarded on the table nearby. She looked unnaturally self-conscious, he pale arms wrapped around her slender form. Beast Boy was in the corner with Cyborg, tossing a football back and forth. Starfire appeared to be watching their progress and talking to Raven at the same time. Raven was clearly _not_ listening.

She looked up at his approach and smirked. "Joining us at last, Blunder Boy?"

Robin laughed. "Yeah. I thought you weren't going to go swimming?"

She shrugged. "Changed my mind. I do that sometimes."

He got in the pool and waded over to them, giving Starfire a quick kiss. She kissed him back, and it didn't escape Robin's notice that Raven turned away, a faint blush on her cheeks.

They spent the afternoon in the pool, everyone wrinkled and red from the sun. Cyborg was the first to go in, complaining about being worn out and hungry. They all left in turn, leaving Raven alone with her fellow bird.

"You look good," Robin told her, swimming over to where she sat in the corner.

She splashed him in response.

"No, I'm serious!" he laughed, shielding his face with his arm.

Raven splashed him one more time for good measure. "Shut up, Richard. I don't need you to make me feel better."

"Aren't you always just one step ahead of me?"

She flipped her hair out of her face, her slightly burned face smiling. "Ahead of _the_ Batman's sidekick. _Me?_ Never."

"Whether you're ahead of me or not, I'm not just trying to make you feel better. You do look good, Rae."

She rolled her eyes, still not believing him. "Keep your hormones to yourself," she told him.

All he did was laugh. "Yes ma'am."

END CHAPTER

Yay! I've finally updated! Give me reviews for it! :D So, yeah. I'm on a Batman bender. If you start to see people like Jason Todd and Tim Drake appearing, with things like, well, Jason dying, don't blame me. I didn't come up with suck ridiculousness.


	4. Into Myself

So, I got a pretty good response for my first time back in two years! Thanks, guys! Your reviews are really appreciated!  
So it was suggested that I look at Starfire's view on things, and I think that it was a wonderful suggestion, and so that's what I'm doing, at least partially, this chapter. She knows something's up. So now, on with the show.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Chapter 4

Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb.

So, alright, Starfire wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but she thought that perhaps Raven was the bomb she was supposed to be getting rid of. She was constantly in her room, but when Robin noticed, he went to go find her. He wanted her to have fun, he argued, and Starfire believed him.

But when she had suggested that they all go swimming, Starfire hadn't expected Robin to ask Raven to swim. He had the best claim to intimate knowledge of the half demon girl, but Starfire knew Raven well enough to know that she wouldn't want to go swimming when there was a pool full of boys there, too.

Not that Starfire had exactly been surprised when Robin went to ask Raven if she would come, because she wasn't Starfire understood that they were best friends and shared a bond that had forced them to know each others' secrets, but…

Starfire didn't like it.

She knew that they had an intimate way of communicating, and Starfire had trouble picking up on it. She wasn't sure if the others did, too, or if they just chose to ignore it, but the fact of the matter was that Raven and Robin held whole conversations simply by looking at each other. Robin and Raven were both the kind of people that didn't share what they were feeling, but Starfire got the distinct impression that they shared their emotions with each other.

And on some level, Starfire honestly respected that. Raven and Robin were, in very many ways, kindred spirits, and Raven needed a kindred spirit. Robin could get along with most people, but Raven simply didn't. She loved all her friends, Starfire knew, but Robin was the only one she truly got along with.

On another level, Starfire was out of control, red with rage, completely and totally _not_ okay with the way Raven and Robin interacted. Robin was _her_ boyfriend, not Raven's, and Starfire really hated that he tended to spend more time with Raven than his own girlfriend.

And yet, Starfire still felt like she couldn't judge. Raven was new to the world of being allowed to feel, and it wasn't her fault if she was a bit unsteady on her feet. Robin understood what Raven was going through, and it was only natural that he help her through it.

It shouldn't matter if most of his smiles were for Raven, because, in the end, it was Starfire who held Robin in her arms, kissing him goodnight, and thriving on his love.

But that honestly didn't mean that she was okay with his smiles always directed somewhere else.

XXX

Raven wasn't always sure of what to think of her friends, and that was becoming a bigger and bigger gap. Beast Boy was growing up, becoming more mature, and not only in body, right before her eyes. Had Cyborg always been so attentive to her? And since when did Starfire look at her like she would love to throw little tiny knives at her?

That, Raven thought, might have just been the product of an overactive imagination. After all, she and Starfire had bonded over the brief period of time between the time Raven had defeated Trigon and the time they had been called on by the Doom Patrol.

But how much bonding was enough?

Raven was an intelligent and observant person. She knew that Robin spent more time with her than he did with Starfire, and on a holiday she hadn't wanted to take. Starfire, though naïve, wasn't stupid, and she saw Robin was with Raven quite often. Raven understood how that would make a new girlfriend jealous.

Still, Raven didn't want any of this jealousy nonsense, whether it was Starfire's or her own. Robin, plain and simple, just wasn't worth it. He was gentle and kind, with the most beautiful blue eyes…

_Dammit, Raven, he is not that special!_

She was still trying to tell herself this when Cyborg knocked on her door.

She let him in, trying not to look like she had been distressed only moments before. He sat down next to her on the bed, his eyes serious, his face set.

"You look good human, Vic,"

They had all opted to try and look like normal teenagers on vacation for their time in Mexico. For Cyborg, it had meant a lot of circuitry changing and a holographic ring that wouldn't get damaged if it were to get wet.

"Thanks, kiddo, but I didn't come here for you to compliment me."

Raven frowned. She was fairly certain that she knew _exactly_ why Cyborg was here to talk to her.

"Alright," she said, her voice sounding worn. "Let's get on with it. Tell me how I'm stealing Robin from Starfire and she hates me and really wants me gone."

Cyborg was silent for a moment, only blinking at Raven, and then started laughing so hard that it shook the bed.

Raven, confused, sat looking at him like he was crazy, her hands neatly in her lap, waiting for him to finish his insane bout of laughter.

"Starfire, want you gone, Rae? You must be kidding."

The look on her face told him she was not, and he took control of himself, managing only to grin ridiculously at her. "Nah, I came here to talk to you about _you_, and not really anyone else."

Raven shrugged, ready to accept listen to what Cyborg was going to say, though perhaps not quite as willing to accept it. If this wasn't about Starfire, she wasn't sure what _was_ about.

"Look, Rae. I understand that things are different for you now, that you're going through changes. But you've really got to try and be nicer. I know that you may not always get along with all of us, but Gar is finally starting to grow up and he's not just going to let you boss him around. And Kori, well, she's always going to be Kori, but she doesn't like all the yelling and fighting that happens. So just try and cool of, okay?"

Raven was silent for a long moment, not knowing what to say. She leaned over and hugged Cyborg, thankful for his advice.

"This vacation wasn't somehow a plot to get me used to feeling emotions, was it?" she asked, pulling away from Cyborg.

He laughed. "I'd be willing to bet my right arm that was at least some of the reason Robin decided to organize this. But no, I don't think so."

Raven shrugged. "Well, that's too bad, because I think it's working.

XXX

There was some sort of party, Raven knew, but apart from that, she didn't know what was going on. Beast Boy had begun to explain it to her, but Robin had come in and told her that he had gotten the story all wrong.

Apparently, Robin and Starfire had been in town shopping for groceries when some guy had started mugging some other guy, and Starfire and Robin had saved him and hadn't the mugger over to the police to go to jail.

By some ridiculous happenstance, the man turned out to be the mayor, and he had invited his young rescuers to a formal ball he was hosting that night. Ever gracious, Robin had accepted, not thinking to ask anyone else if they thought this a good idea.

This left Raven in a very uncomfortable position. She had not brought any formal wear with her (as if she owned any!) and was now forced to either decline to go (which she knew Robin would not allow) or go and buy a dress.

She had not yet spent any of the money that had been allotted for her for souvenirs, but she was hesitant to spend it on a party dress. She thought about asking Robin for more money to buy a dress – after all, none of them had formal wear and Raven knew for a fact that Beast Boy had already spent all his money on video games and Mexican candies – but she felt guilty for even thinking about it.

She left the house without telling anyone where she was going, but Robin caught her out the door, coming in from what looked like an afternoon swim, but had probably just been a quick dip after a very heavy work out. Robin was nothing if not diligent in his routine.

He had wanted to go with her, to "share the experience", he called it, but she told him no and was not going to be told otherwise. Robin didn't want her going alone in a strange town, but Cyborg's conversation was still fresh in Raven's mind.

"I want it to be a surprise. None of you have ever seen me in a dress, and if I have to do this, I want to do it right."

He let her go after that, too shocked to do anything but step aside.

XXX

As a superhero, Robin had never had the chance to go to a prom. Sure, thousands of girls all over Jump asked him annually, but he had never accepted. He didn't count the brief encounter with Kitten, preferring to push the horrendous experience out of his mind at all costs, thank you very much.

He was considering this his prom, Starfire his date, and glad that his friends were going to be there to share it with him.

He gave his tie one last straightening before he walk out into the hall and saw Starfire waiting there for him.

Her hair was curled, half up, and her dress a pretty a-line with a sweetheart neckline, a pretty pink colour that flattered her skin tone. He smile at her and pinned a corsage to her wrist kissing her as he did so.

"Is Raven even back yet?"

Starfire shrugged. "I do not know. But I have not seen our friend since before you reported that she had departed to find the formal dress for tonight."

They had been about to turn around and head into the living room when they heard the gentle click of a door closing, and turned to see Raven coming out of her room, glowing in a blue gown, thin straps on her shoulder, with a plain diamond looking necklace at her throat, a matching bracelet on her wrist, and a beautiful sapphire ring on her finger. Her hair was up and curled, though Robin didn't know how she'd done it, with little ringlets framing her pale face.

"Wow, Raven. You look beautiful."

She blushed, and Robin noted that she purposely avoided looking at Starfire. "Thanks,"

She brushed passed them and went into the living room, and it wasn't until then that he noticed the sheer black wrap that she had around her elbows, hugging it closely to her body. She was uncomfortable.

In that moment, he wanted to her hug and tell her that she was beautiful and that she shouldn't be worried about what other people thought. She was gorgeous, and she should know it.

At the same, he didn't know what he was thinking. His girlfriend was standing right next to him, just as pretty as Raven, and more his than Raven ever would.

He didn't know _what_ he was thinking, only that he shouldn't be thinking it about Raven of all people, and certainly not with Starfire, his model good looks girlfriend, standing right there next to him.

END CHAPTER

So I kept complaining about how I was not characterizing Raven well. So, I fixed that, and then gave Robin that problem. Don't let it put you off; I'm working on fixing it. He just keeps say that he wants to be a certain way, and no matter what I'm doing with a scene, he decides to be chipper. So blame him, not me :P  
P.S. Yes, I totally did steal that bomb line from the 60's Batman movie. I couldn't help myself


	5. Breathe Again

For Your Information: Richard, though in the comics, is shortened to Dick, I felt that Rick was a better nickname given the more modern, not post-WWII times this is being written in.  
Also, the song of choice for this chapter is Breathe Again by Sara Bareillies. It's a great song and it's a great companion song for pretty much anything emotional. So feel free to listen to it while you read this.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Chapter 5

Raven would really rather have just stayed at their table and watched everyone else. She was a people watcher, not a people joiner, and if Cyborg hadn't dragged her out on the dance floor, she wouldn't have gotten there by choice, swaying uncomfortably next to Beast Boy as he talked to her, nodding at the appropriate intervals and contributing very little to the conversation at all.

Robin and Starfire were off in the corner, Starfire's arms draped loosely over Robin's shoulder as he held her delicately by the wait, his blue eyes sparkling and he looked into her green ones.

With the strange magnetism that attends tragedies, the same odd draw that makes people want to see terrible things, Raven could not look away from the happy couple. At the start of a new song, as they drew closer, Cyborg brought her into the circle of his arms, whirling her round and round, and yet she still couldn't keep her eyes from wandering over to where they danced back and forth in the corner.

She thanked Cyborg for the dance with a quick, fleeting smile.

In some ways, Raven felt like she had lost Robin. After all, what kind of heart doesn't look back? There had been so many opportunities for them to further their relationship, make it known that she felt affection for him. There had been plenty of late nights, sitting up with each other, tea in hand, when she could have made her move and had failed.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when an unfamiliar touch tapped her on the shoulder and she wheeled around to see a handsome blonde haired green eyed man standing behind her with a loose smile on his lips.

"_Care to dance?"_ he asked in Spanish, though it was clear that he was some foreigner, and not Mexican.

She thought about saying no; she didn't do well with strangers. But both Cyborg and beast Boy were occupied with other girls and Robin was with Starfire, so she could not use one or the other of them as an excuse.

"_I wouldn't mind that,"_ she replied in the same language, amused when a confused look crossed the man's features.

"Sorry, I exhausted my Spanish when I asked you to dance. Was that a yes?"

Surprised at herself, Raven smiled. "Yes."

"Cool," he said, and though he reminded her of Beast Boy, Raven liked him. "My name's Kyle,"

"Rachael," she replied, using the name she gave to all strangers. "Pleasure to meet you."

Kyle expressed similar sentiments and took her into his arms, sweeping her into a waltz that didn't match the music.

"This isn't in three four time, you know." Raven told him, enjoying the look of the smile that spread over his features.

"Yeah, but you look like the kind of girl who knows how to waltz, and I was right."

She was surprised at herself for falling so seamlessly into the dance. He was right; she could waltz, and she could waltz very well. She had learned as a small girl, and it wasn't exactly the kind of skill one forgot.

"You're not bad yourself. How'd you learn?"

He launched into a complicated story about his father and how he was an American diplomat and had forced his son to learn about high society from a very early age, ending by asking how she had learned to waltz so fabulously.

"My mother taught me," she said simply, only elaborating when further pressed. "She wanted me to be well rounded, and I occasionally dealt with the higher society when I still lived with her."

"You don't still live with your parents?" he asked curiously. "You don't look much older than seventeen."

"No, I live with a few of my friends. My mom died when I was young and my dad just recently died, so I've been with them for as long as I've lived where I live now."

"Oh, I'm sorry about your dad," Kyle said, apologizing for the more recent death. Raven shook her head.

"Don't be. He was an ass. He was the one that killed my mother."

She instantly regretted revealing this, especially to a complete stranger. The only person she had even told that to was Robin, and had done so in complete confidence.

And not only that, but Kyle looked completely horrified.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that. I guess it's a bit much to hear from a complete stranger."

Raven had to give it to the guy, after the initial shock, he seemed fine, and simply shrugged it off. "Hey, it happens. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does." He paused for a moment, looking for a change of subject, and found a suitable one. "So, with such a rotten childhood, what brings you here?"

That was simple enough to answer. "My friends and I are on vacation and two of them stopped the mayor from being mugged or something. I wasn't there and the details are a little gray in terms of what actually happened."

Kyle nodded and looked off into the crowds of people, seemingly searching for someone. When he didn't find whoever he was looking for, he turned back to her, smiling.

"So tell me, do you have a boyfriend or something? I mean, you're stunningly gorgeous but you seem to be here alone…"

"I already told you I'm not here alone, Kyle. But no, I don't have a boyfriend."

He looked at her with a confused expression. "No? Well that guy over therel ooks like he wouldn't mind if _he _were your boyfriend."

Raven followed Kyle's glance to where it rested on Robin, who currently staring holes into the blonde boy's skull. _Yeesh_, Raven thought. _If looks could kill…_

"Oh, him? That… that's just Rick. He's my best friend. Over –protective and all. He's probably thinking of ten thousand ways to threaten your manhood if you do anything to me."

Kyle laughed, pulling Raven closer to him as the music changed and he swept her up into another dance. "He looks like he wants to roast me on a stave, Rachael," he said, sounding like nothing would delight him more. "That boy is in love with you or something."

Raven couldn't help but snort in disbelief. "Yeah, right. You see that drop dead gorgeous red-head he's sitting next to? Yeah, that's Kori, and she's his girlfriend."

Kyle seemed to analyze the way Robin was looking at Starfire compared to how he was looking at Raven and smiled. "Well, she's hot, there's no denying that, but that's all she is. You, Rachael, are gorgeous, and this Rick kid clearly sees that. He's looking at her, but he's clearly seeing you."

Kyle stopped dancing and turned Raven to look at the table where Robin and Starfire were sitting, Robin alternating between talking and paying attention to Starfire and glancing at Raven.

"You're full of it," Raven finally decided. "You're just trying to impress me."

Kyle whirled her around, dancing again, and forced her into a deep dip. "Well, that maybe, but I'm not bullshiting you. That boy is head over heels for you."

"I think you've got in backwards, actually," Raven admitted. "He doesn't want anything from me except friendship. He treasures that, but he loves Kori, and he would never think of me that way."

"Ah, so you think its unrequited love? I knew I didn't have a chance!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I danced with you, didn't I? Clearly I am not as concerned with him as you perceive."

Kyle reached out and lightly touched Raven's nose, something Raven very much objected to. "You," he said. "are very much infatuated with that boy. But never fear, I have a fool proof plan."

Raven didn't get the chance to ask him what this full proof plan was, because he showed her when he very suddenly kissed her.

She felt her eyes widen and then close of their own will, her hand wrapping around Kyle's neck, if only for support. He pulled away, smiling, and winked at her so that Robin could not see. "Ten bucks he's headed over here right now to tear my head off." He told her cheerily.

"Oh, he is, and now you've done it," she replied. "I should warn you, he used to work as an acrobat in the circus. If you want to start a fight, Richard isn't exactly the best person to agitate."

Kyle shrugged right as Robin stopped at Raven's shoulder and wrapped his arm around her. "I saw you kiss my best friend here."

Raven rolled her eyes and shoved Robin's arm off of her. "He was just being a bit overly friendly, Richard, nothing to worry about." She turned to face him then and whispered through gritted teeth "I can take care of myself."

"Well, overly friendly or not, I think Vic and Gar wanted to tell you something really funny that happened to them earlier. Here, I'll take you over there,"

Raven turned and shrugged at Kyle as Robin carted her away, and he winked at her.

_Yeah_, Kyle thought. _Whether or not that girl realizes it, she's got that kid's heart wrapped around her finger._

XXX

Robin sat next to Raven, watching her as she stirred whatever she was drinking with a tiny straw-thing. She looked utterly bored, and he guessed hoe couldn't blame her. After all, he was essentially holding her hostage.

The funny thing that happened to Vic and Gar happened to be that the both needed to tell her she looked pretty. Again.

Raven glanced Robin's way every once and awhile, rolling her eyes each time. Everyone else was on the dance floor, chatting and dancing, respectively. Beast Boy and Cyborg were both flirting with obviously gold digging girls, and Raven knew that Robin saw, but did nothing about it.

But Kyle? No, he had been a problem.

_Stupid bird boy_, Raven thought sourly. _He just doesn't know what he's doing. Ugh._

Robin glanced at her sharply, as if he had heard her thinking. She quirked her eyebrows, as if asking him what he wanted, her expression all attitude. He looked away quickly and up at the band, where they were getting ready to start another song.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said a voice. "We ask that all of you find a partner for this dance and get out on the floor."

Raven stood, Robin next her, her eyes searching the room for Kyle. She spotted him and began walking towards him when Robin grabbed her and spun her around into his arms. "Care to dance?"

She pushed him away, and none too gently. "Go dance with your girlfriend, Richard. You don't want to dance with me."

She made to go, but he pulled her back to him again, all but pushing her into his chest. "I _do_ want to dance with you, Raven," he said, whispering. "And I _don't_ want you dancing with that douche bag from earlier."

Raven actually laughed. "Since when do you care who I'm friends with? Now seriously, go find Kori and dance with her. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry."

She tried to pull away, but he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, pinning her to his chest. "Kori'll be fine. See, she's already got a partner. And now I'll be yours."

The music began, a slow and steady beat, and Raven sighed, wrapping her arms around Robin's neck. He drew her close as the vocals starting, and she had little choice but to rest her head in the hollow of his shoulder.

"_All I have, all I need, he's the air I would kill to breather. Holds my love in his hand, still I'm searching for something. Out of breath I'm left hoping that someday, I'll breathe again"_

"You smell really nice, Raven,"

She looked up into his blue eyes, sparkling with sincerity. She smiled involuntarily, though she couldn't place the reaction. She was thoroughly flummoxed, and inwardly was wonder just what game her best friend was playing.

"Thank you. You smell nice too,"

He pulled her closer to him again, twirling her along to the music and wondering when exactly holding Raven had felt so right. Was it because she seemed like the kind of girl you needed to hold close, needed to protect? Well, certainly he felt that way about her. She was his best friend, and he knew every facet of her mind. She could handle herself in dangerous situations, he knew. Hell, he had seen her do so on numerous occasions.

But when it came to emotional situations, situations when her heart was potentially on the line, she needed to be shielded, guided, and protected, more than anyone he had ever known. He knew that sometimes the strongest, most stoic girl was the one with the most to loose.

No, he decided, that wasn't why holding Raven felt so right. She felt like she belonged in his arms, a feeling he got sometimes when he held Starfire and felt loved up, perfectly in the moment, like everything was right and he wouldn't change anything.

That hadn't happened in months, he realized.

"_Open up next to you And my secrets become your truth And the distance between that was sheltering me comes in full view."_

He continued to whirl her around, his thoughts completely wrapped around her when she heard her voice in his head.

_Shh, now, Richard. You're thinking so loud you're almost projecting. _

He laughed. Perceptive, is that one, he thought.

_How does one think quietly, oh knowy one?_

Raven snorted, out loud. _Oh knowy one? That's a new one. Come up with it on your own, did you?_

For whatever reason, she chose to look up at him at that moment, and though they had been joking with each other, her eyes were serious. He had known her long enough to be able to recognize when she was hiding something from him, and the look of concentration in her eyes was telling him that hiding something was exactly what she was doing.

_What's wrong, Rae?_ He asked, concerned.

Of all things, she smiled at him. _Nothing. Nothing's wrong. You're a better dance partner than Kyle. Even if he was crazy good at waltzing._

Thrown off for a moment, Richard leaned towards Raven their eyes on level and both of them smiling. She raised he mouth towards his, as if expecting him to kiss her, and he leaned down, about to comply, when Raven turned her head.

_Well, I better be crazy good at dancing. _He whirled her and caught the beat of a waltz, showing her exactly how much better we was at waltzing than Kyle. _I grew up with Bruce Wayne, remember?_

"I remember," she whispered, and somehow, it broke the spell of the moment.

"_Out of breath, I'm left hoping someday, I'll breathe again"_

They were both breathing heavily as the song came to a stop. Raven pulled away from Robin, though he kept his hands on her, as if he believed that if he took them away she would disappear. If he was honest, he wasn't sure that she wouldn't.

"Go back to Kori, Richard," she ordered him. "Go back and play house with your girlfriend."

She marched off and grabbed her black shawl from the table they had been sitting at and proceeded outside towards the balcony, presumably to calm herself down and get a handle on what she was feeling.

She was becoming so much more open, but what good was that openness if she proceeded to slam shut like a clam at the first sign of conflict?

Robin sighed and did as Raven had told him, finding Starfire in a casual conversation with a young boy who seemed to have escaped from his parents. He was sitting it Starfire's lap, big, brown eyes looking up at robin as he approached. He buried his head in Starfire's chest as Robin sat down, and she patted the young boy's back in comfort.

"He thinks you are scary, Richard. He says that you look like you are ready to hurt someone." She paused and looked at Robin with round eyes. "I cannot say that he is incorrect."

Robin made a conscious effort to control his features and smiled. "Sorry. Rachael and I just had a conversation and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's making me edgy."

The little boy peeked up from Starfire's chest and looked at Robin. Robin smiled and patted the little boy on his back. "Come on, kiddo, we should go find your parents."

He scooped him up and away from Starfire, who smiled kindly but was clearly confused. Robin wasn't the easiest person to read, but Starfire could tell when he was troubled, and troubled he most certainly was.

Her thoughts about what was bothering him were interrupted when she heard a very loud scream and jumped to her feet, only to realize that she recognized that scream.

Raven. Raven was the one in trouble.

END CHAPTER

A cliffie! I haven't played with one of those in a long time! And thus, the plot gets really, really thick…  
This chapter is longer due to the fact that there's a lot going on, and not only with Raven. Obviously, this is mostly her blinders on, with some of Robin's and a bit of Starfire's there on the end. By the way, I hate writing Starfire. Her lack of the use of contractions gets annoying.  
Next chapter will include drama, kidnapping, and perhaps a six hundred year old super villain. Points if you guess who it is.  
And that's it for this note. Until next time!


	6. Back to Life Part 1

Those who guessed Ra's Al Ghul got it right. Thank you to all my reviewers and thank you all for saying that you like my style of writing. It's good to hear that it's interesting.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Chapter 6

Raven had met Ra's al Ghul before, and she hadn't been happy about it then.

She was decidedly less happy about it now.

Her expensive dress had ripped up the side, exposing a good portion of her creamy thigh, and try as she might to cover it up, she couldn't manage. She wanted to rip the perpetually old man limb from limb, but whatever he gad done to her had somehow prevented her from using her powers.

When she got out of this mess, she was so asking Robin for hand to hand training.

At some point in time, Ra's had been allied with her father. After it was determined that Trigon didn't want anything to do with Ra's "perfect environmental balance", he had left the partnership. Raven supposed that was where Slade had come in, but she wasn't sure on the finer details.

Raven also happened to know that Ra's had a deep hatred for her, seeing her as filth and unworthy to walk the Earth. It was possible, she thought, that he would kill her, particularly since he seemed to have a thing about "purging humanity of all impurities".

At least he respected Robin, and that was her bargaining chip. Ra's, even though he had kidnapped her and was potentially going to attempt to kill her, was not exactly what Raven would call evil or a villain, just a misguided man with a misguided view about how to fix a world he saw as deeply flawed.

Still, she really, really didn't like Ra's al Ghul, and she really didn't want to be his hostage. She also suspected that her kidnapping had something to do with Robin, and she didn't like that. Just because one respected the father didn't mean that eh respected the son. What could he possibly want?

Ra's walked in then and smiled at Raven with such a cold, calculating expression that Raven actually shivered in her bonds. "What have you done to me?" she demanded.

Ra's smile again. "I have injected a poison into your bloodstream, little bird. It has left you powerless, and it may very well kill you. We shall see."

Raven glared at her captor, unable to do anything but. "What do you want, Ra's? And how did you find me? We're on vacation."

"Oh, it was not difficult, young Raven. It was all planned. You see, I am the mayor that your friends saved from being mugged. I invited you to the ball so I could kidnap you and bring you here."

Okay, that wasn't exactly a surprise, Raven thought. Even a bit obvious. Still, what motive could he possibly have? It wasn't like she could do anything for him, or even _would_ do anything for him.

The sound of his pacing was annoying her

"If this has anything to do with Jason, al Ghul, you can leave me out of it. I can't stop it, and Batman already hates you. So let it go."

Ra's stopped pacing, his expression changing for the first time. He sneered at her, clearly upset by her words. "What do you know of Jason Todd, little birdling?"

"I know what I have seen. The Joker will kill him, and you will bring him back to life. Batman will not know, and bad things will happen. Robin will leave the Titans and become Nightwing. From there, I do not know what will happen. But I do know you want to stop it."

Ra's snorted. "You know so much and yet so little, bird. But yes, you are right, Jason Todd is going to die, and young Richard Grayson is going to leave you."

Raven shrugged as best she could, being restrained. "Though I regret that Jason has to die, it is what it is. We cannot be the Teen Titans forever. Richard's first priority is and always will be Gotham and he will always be loyal to Batman. Trying to goad me into stopping something that needs to happen simply because you feel guilty isn't going to work. Jason is going to die, and then he is going to come back. That's the way things are going to happen, and you cannot stop them."

He whirled on her and smacked her, making her head jerk to the side and tears sting at her eyes. "You ridiculous girl! You dare to chastise me about changing the course of things when you yourself stopped the world from ending! Insolent brat!"

He smacked her again, and she spat out blood. "I didn't do that alone, and you know it. Besides, that was different. That wasn't one life, if was the entire world."

She knew that she sounded cold and heartless, but it was true. Jason was a good kid and she knew that he was like a brother to Richard, but she knew that if Jason didn't die, the Joker was going to kill a lot more people and, no matter how dear he was to Richard, Raven would rather have one life taken as opposed to many.

If Richard knew, he would probably kill her.

"Let me go, Ra's. Keeping me is only going to lead Robin straight to you. Detective trained him; you know how good he is."

Ra's seemed to consider this but then shook his head. "No matter. You will help me in this matter, Raven Roth, and I will make sure of it."

XXX

Starfire found Robin as quickly as she could, trying not to draw attention to herself. "Richard!" she yelled, and he turned to see her, smiling until he noticed the expression on his girlfriend's face.

"Kori, what wrong?" he asked, taking her by the arm and sitting down at the nearest table. She seemed out of breath and it was a long moment before she answered in short, clipped tones.

"They have taken our friend Rachael"

He thought she was joking at first; Raven was not the sort of person who was easily "taken", and people surely would have noticed if someone had swooped in and kidnapped her.

Then again, she had been on the balcony, and if someone really had taken her, it would have been all too easy and no one would have noticed. She had screamed, and still, Starfire was the only one who had noticed.

"Did you see who took her?" he asked, detective skills finally kicking in as he grasped Starfire's hands, urgent.

She shook her head. "I did not. All I saw was the swirl of a very long cloak as he jumped from the balcony with our friend in his clutches."

Long cloak? He wasn't sure who that could be. Maybe Malchoir come back from wherever Raven had sent him? N, that wasn't really possible. Though Robin always imagined him as some medieval crime boss, long, flowing cape included, he had to remind himself that he was really a dragon.

Perhaps it was Mumbo Jumbo? He sometimes wore a long cape.

But Robin was thinking small picture and he knew it. What villain could possibly have the means and knowledge to come all the way to Mexico and kidnap _Raven_? It had to be someone smart, no average jewelry thief, like Mumbo.

The Joker? But no, he didn't wear a cape, and probably never would. It wasn't his style.

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Villain with means and knowledge enough to kidnap Raven? A long cloak?

It was Ra's al Ghul.

Robin jumped up, startling Starfire and wove through the crowd to find Beast Boy and Cyborg, who did not know what was going on. He thrust them at Starfire, telling her to explain to them what was going on and ran off without another word.

XXX

"Bruce."

"Richard."

Robin sighed into the phone. "Something's happened with Ra's al Ghul."

"You're in Mexico."

Leave it to Bruce to make things more difficult than they needed to be. "I am. The Titans and I were all on vacation, but Ra's has kidnapped Raven."

There was silence for a long moment before Bruce answered. "Do you need me there or are you capable of handling this on your own?"

"I don't need you here, no," Robin answered. "But I do need the backup of your equipment. Tell Jay to track him down. I'm guessing he's somewhere here in Mexico, but I can't be sure. Have him call me back when you know anything."

XXX

Raven had fallen asleep and was rudely awakened by a bucket of water being turned upside down on her head.

She jerked awake, her cheeks swollen from where Ra's had hit her and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Ra's was standing over her looking menacing.

"He is coming," he said simply and Raven nodded.

"Good. But if you tell him about Todd, it'll be the last thing you do."

Ra's laughed. "No, little bird, I think not. You can do nothing to stop me. Though, perhaps young Master Grayson will be very angry at you for not telling him that his little brother is going to die."

"That's not going to happen for years to come, al Ghul, and you know it. And if you're so concerned about Jason Todd's life, don't hire the Joker. Don't send him to Sarajevo."

"That I simply cannot do, young one. The Joker is someone I cannot afford not to hire, you understand."

"If that's true," she said, "then you aren't that concerned about it. I think you just don't want to cross paths with Batman again because you know he can kick your ass."

"True, Batman is a very powerful opponent, and his little robin is not so bad as well," Ra's replied. "But I think I owe Bruce enough to save his son, his protégé, from being murdered. Do you not think?"

"You want to know what I think? I think you're crazy and that you're going about trying to change a future that isn't even concrete. I also think that you're trying to save Jason in the exact opposite way that you should be. Kidnapping me to keep Batman from going to Bosnia isn't the right way to do things, and you know it."

Ra's turned his back on Raven, pinching the bridge of his nose. Raven was satisfied with how uncomfortable, hoping that she could stall long enough either for Robin to show up or her powers to return. She started tapping her foot, impatient but not particularly concerned for her well-being. Ra's wasn't going to hurt her, she thought, at least not badly. He needed her in tact to use as a bargaining chip.

She thought that she could deal with anything he threw her way right up until he took a knife to her collar bone and slashed deeply through, making her bleed all over the top of her dress and gasp in pain. It wasn't a particularly awful cut, but it was deep and it bled. She wondered if Ra's was simply roughing her up for the same of appearances. Yeah, the slash hurt, and yeah, it was bleeding pretty freely, but it wasn't the kind of pain that one associates with being kidnapped by a six hundred year old plus maniac. He wasn't breaking her arm or anything.

Or beating her to death with a crowbar…

She tried very hard to silence that thought. She wasn't exactly sure how the bond between her thoughts and Robin's worked, but she did know that it often came to life when she thought of him, and vice versa. Thinking about the future death of his brother wasn't exactly something that Raven wanted him to pick up on, and so she focused on trying to mentally phone him and get him to hone in on where she was.

_Richard, Ra's al Ghul has me in some warehouse. He's drugged me and I don't know where I am, but please, come help me. He's hurting me, Richard, and I don't know what he's going to do to me next…_

XXX

Robin couldn't help but think about how badly he was going to hurt Ra's al Ghul when he found him. Robin had gotten Raven's message loud and clear, and if the bastard was hurting Raven, Robin was going to do what he had done to her and tenfold.

Jason had long ago phoned Richard and told him the location of the warehouse where al Ghul was holding Raven. He had no idea what he could possibly want her for, but he wasn't exactly eager to find out. If he so much as left a mark on Raven's skin, so help him, Robin was going to _murder_ the bastard, and murder him so that no amount of the water from the Lazarus Pits could bring him back to life. He was going to rip that prick's heart out if Raven so much as sneezed because of him…

Further worrying himself about Raven's condition, Robin sped up, hoping that Raven wasn't in too much danger and Ra's wasn't prepared for the fight he had so easily brought. And with the other Titans right behind him…

Yeah, Ra's al Ghul was going to die.

END CHAPTER

Initially, I was going to have Robin's confrontation with Ra's in this chapter, but then it just wasn't flowing that way, so now you get it in two long parts. Next chapter should see Robin saving Raven and beating Ra's almost to death.

I don't know if Ra's has the power to see into the future, and it wasn't in any of the reading I did on him, but I needed a reason for him to kidnap Raven. I originally had a completely different idea about why he had her, but I forgot what it was, so yeah…

For those of you who don't know about Jason Todd: The Joker beat him to death with a crowbar, and then Ra's al Ghul brought him back to life by putting him in the Lazarus Pits. There's a bit more to the story, like Jason essentially becoming a criminal, but we won't go there, particularly since Raven didn't see that. Hence Ra's comment about Raven knowing so much and so little at the same time.

I know the Nightwing time line isn't exactly right, but they tweek the comics enough, I figured I do a bit of tweeking of my own. And so this was born. I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Back to Life Part 2

A lot of people seem to be confused about why Ra's wants Raven. I thought I made it pretty clear, but for those who don't understand, he wants her to help him stop Jason Todd from dying. Things regarding this little matter are only going to get more complicated, so pay careful attention.  
Music for this chapter and last is Back to Life by Automatic Loveletter.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Chapter 7

Okay, so Raven hadn't thought that Ra's was going to seriously injure her. He needed her to stop Jason Todd from dying, and Ra's knew that if he seriously marred her, Richard was going to bring him down hard, and then where would he be? But knowing that he wasn't going to permanently harm her didn't stop the pain of what he was doing to her.

She was in very great danger of loosing quite a lot of blood. Ra's had banged her up against walls, and she was pretty sure she had a concussion. Her lip was bleeding from a cut and she was bleeding freely from several wounds inflicted all over her body. Her eyes were having problems staying open, though she wasn't sure if it was from the loss of blood or because it was late and she was simply tired.

"Richard is going to be pissed, you know," she told Ra's through gritted teeth. "You're torturing his best friend. If you live through this, I'll be very surprised."

Ra's just laughed, smacking her across the face. "Yes, I suspect he will be quite angry, won't he? No matter. He will also be quite angry with _you_ once he finds out why you are here."

"How do you mean?"

Ra's got very close to her face, his breath tickling her face, and she flinched back. "You failed to tell the little detective about the impending death of Jason Todd. He will never forgive you."

Raven's jaw dropped open, realizing that Ra's was right on both counts. The truth was, she had thought about telling Richard on several occasions, but every time she went marching off to do it, something else pulled her away and then telling Richard never happened. But it was too late now, and when he found out what she had been keeping from him, he was never going to forgive her.

"All part of my plan, of course, little bird. Every time the idea was planted in your head, I would distract you with something else, or dissuade you from making the choice to tell our dear Richard. I couldn't have you ruining the surprise."

"That doesn't make any sense, al Ghul!" Raven exclaimed, furious. Not only was he playing with her, but he had been for months. And, even worse, he had invaded her most personal space – her mind. "If you wanted to prevent Richard from knowing, then why would you bring me here to reveal it to him?"

"All things in time, Raven dear. It was not his time to know. I planted the visions in your mind so you would know, and I have brought you here to make the visions known to Robin. If he becomes angry with you, it is of no consequence to me."

Raven paled, though she did feel better about not telling Richard, feeling like she was going to pass out at any second. She felt sick to her stomach and hungry at the same time, and she just wished that everything would hurry up and be done, fearing the consequences of the day, but not caring enough in the face of what was happening to her now.

She looked up at Ra's al Ghul to say something about getting it over with when she spotted Robin hanging from the rafters by a birdarang. "It's about time, Blunder Boy,"

Ra's turned just in time to see Robin swing down from the rafters and kick him squarely in the chest. His face was deadly serious as he punched the man and broke his nose, blood spurting on his black and white tux. "Yeah, well I thought that I'd give you the chance to kick his ass on your own. Why didn't you, by the way?"

He cut her bonds and she made to stand up, but she did so too quickly, and she teetered forward into his arms. "He gave me something. I'm literally powerless at the moment, I'm afraid. Otherwise I wouldn't look like a bloody doll. I think I have a concussion, too."

Richard nodded and swung her up into his arms, Ra's still on the floor clutching his broken nose. "I'll put you somewhere safe. The others should be on their way. They'll take care of you while I take care of _him_."

He was off like a bat from hell, leaving Raven in a pile of satin and chiffon and blood, hoping that Cyborg would get there already so he could do a diagnostic on her. She was feeling worse and worse by the second, listening to the cries of battle issuing from far enough away that she couldn't see what was going on.

There was a sudden _crunch_ noise and a cry of pain from Ra's. At the same time, Raven's head exploded in pain, and it was then she _knew_ she had a concussion. Her head felt like it was separating at the seams, like her mind was on fire. All she could see was red, and she could feel the tears running down her face, showing just how much pain she was in. Throughout all that Ra's al Ghul had put her through, she had not shed a single tear, but this…

She couldn't handle it.

XXX

Raven woke up strapped to an unfamiliar bed in what was clearly not her room at the villa or at Titans Tower. She looked around, confused as to where she was but not as to how she had gotten there.

She remembered Ra's al Ghul and her kidnapping – but she couldn't remember _why_ she had been taken. She remembered Jason Todd, and that Ra's was trying to get her to do something that was going to hurt Richard, but not physically….

"Hey there, stranger,"

Raven's head spun as she looked around the strange room for the person who had spoken. She saw Robin, lounging in a corner, arms crossed over his chest and not looking particularly happy. His blue eyes were trained on her, his tux covered in blood. _Her_ blood, she realized with a start.

"Have you been sitting there the whole time?"

He nodded grimly and stood to come stand by her. "You've been out for some time. You had a concussion and they were worried about you. Ra's did a real number on you."

Raven nodded, trying to prop herself up, but Robin put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Oh no you don't, Rae. You've been in the hospital for three days. You're going to lie down and let yourself heal."

She snorted but complied, slowing lowering herself back into the lumpy mattress. "So I'm in the hospital? Was I really that banged up?"

A dark shadow crossed Robin's eyes and Raven felt the odd urge to avert her eyes, like she was seeing some intensely private moment and should not be witnessing it.

"Yes," was the simple answer he gave.

Possessed by some unknown feeling, Raven reached over and grabbed Robin's hand, careful of the wires on her arms. "I'm sorry," she told him, heartfelt. "I know I was careless and I shouldn't have let him take me. I was just so distracted…"

He cut her off, yelling "_You're_ sorry? _I'm _sorry! I let Ra's take you and he hurt you because I was careless! You got hurt because I was stupid!"

He would have kept going, but Raven put her hand over his mouth, silencing. "Shut up, Rick, you're babbling. It's not your fault, and nor is it mine. Ra's, he wanted me for something, but…"

She stopped, unable to remember what he wanted her for. She looked up at Robin, who looked ready to seriously hurt something. "Richard, he wanted something from me, and it was something that was going to hurt you, but I just can't remember what it was!"

He patted her arm gently so he would touch a bruise or a cut, absentminded and yet carefully paying attention as he stared at the wall. "He said it had something to do with my brother, but he passed out before he could tell me. I don't suppose you know what he meant?"

Flashes went through Raven's mind, but nothing concrete enough to tell him about. A pool of blood? A crowbar? She shook her head.

"No. I very distinctly remember him telling me that you would be angry and hurt when you found out, but for the life of me I can't remember why."

He was silent for a long moment, not realizing that he had twined his fingers with Raven's and was holding her hand.

"Right before he passed out he said "Everything I have done, I do for the greater good.". Does that mean anything to you?"

"Not a thing. You?"

He shook his head, running the hand that Raven wasn't holding through his hair. "I just don't understand what he's want with _you_. I mean, apart from the fact that you know me, he's never met you or has had anything to do with you."

"That's where you're wrong," Raven contradicted. "He worked with my father for a time. He absolutely hates me because of wanting to purify the human race and he thinks I'm some dirty half-breed. But that had nothing to do with this. I specifically remember him saying that this was going to hurt you, that this had to do with you and Batman."

He flinched at the mention of Batman, something that was still, she knew, a sore subject with him. He had left with nothing but a note telling his father that he could no longer stay, leaving to go solo and then forming a team and an everlasting bond with four kids, fighting crime but not knowing what they were doing.

"You know, Alfred always had faith that the dynamic duo could survive anything. Except maybe each other." He laughed bitterly before walking over to the window to look out of it, and Raven wondered, not for the first time, at the fact that their thoughts were so often on the same wavelength.

"Robin," she said, using his superhero name despite the setting and his lack of a mask. "You're doing fine on your own. You lead us fairly, but more importantly, you're our friend, and we care for you as you care for us. You're not Batman, but I don't want you to be."

She saw it in his eyes as he turned around, some burning flame that she couldn't quite place. The carefree boy of their Mexican vacation was gone, replace by a man hardened by a life full of death and crime. She could tell it was her words that had triggered it, a need her dared not deny, his will that she must bend to.

He kissed her, quick and hard, but no less heartfelt. He pulled away, eyes dancing with unfelt emotion, looking down at Raven's confused expression.

He expected her to ask him why he did it, what his motivation behind it was, maybe even yell at him for daring to kiss her when he was with Starfire, a girl he claimed to love. He expected her to perhaps scream that he was insane, that he should never touch her again and that his expression of feelings was ridiculous.

Instead, she said "It was because I said I don't want you to be Batman, wasn't it?"

He laughed. "I kiss you and that's all you have to say? Gee, Rae, I thought you were at least going to yell at me."

She smiled at him, amused. "I can yell at you if you want me to, but somehow I doubt you do. I think that people expect you to be Batman, and you think you have to live up to that, but you struggle with it. Don't get me wrong, Richard, I appreciate Batman, and he did a lot to help me when I first came to Earth, but I don't want you to be him. Be Richard Grayson, detective extraordinaire, be Robin the Boy Wonder, but don't be Batman, and don't be Bruce."

She could see his eyes, full of sorrow and some other emotion. She took his hand again and rubbed her thumb over the back of it, something she knew his mother had done to comfort him when he was a small child.

For his part, Robin had to wonder at it. Here she was, beaten up and not a little bloody, bruised and all in all in a bad condition, and she was comforting him. How had his demons suddenly caught him up, and so quickly? Just the other day, he had been laughing and having fun, Starfire smiling and enjoying herself at his side…

Starfire.

Robin dropped Raven's hand like a hot potato and took several steps back. She looked confused and a little hurt, but he smile comfortingly at her. "I'll be right back. I promise," he told her, and he left the room, glancing back at her once, off to find Starfire and try and figure out exactly what was going on.

Raven watched him go, wondering almost the same thing and hoping that she hadn't started something that she was going to deeply regret later.

END CHAPTER

Fifty reviews! WOOT! Thanks go out to all my reviewers, and especially to She-Pirates kick-BUTT, who claims the fiftieth review. I appreciate the comment about the cactus juice. As a huge Avatar nerd, I got a good laugh out of it. So, maybe your prize can be a nice glass of cactus juice? Or the next chapter dedicated to you? :D

Also, one of my reviewers pointed out that Jason's death was decided by reader's voting in and asked what my vote would have been. I love Robin in pretty much no matter what form he's in, so I probably would have voted no. Then again, I'm not as familiar with Jay as I am with Dick or even Damian (the latest Robin, but we won't go there). He was apparently pretty unpopular with readers.

By the way, that line about Alfred was taken from one of the comics, as well as the line about Ra's doing everything he does for the greater good. I'm now on a mission to get quotes from the comics in each chapter. We'll see how that goes.

So let me know what you guys think. The "mayhem" in the title has pretty much passed, that being the ordeal with Ra's but also with the figuring out of feelings and the learning how to feel, etc. That being said, this story's just about wrapped up, which is a big deal for me. I _never_, and I really mean never, finish stories.

One last note: for the fun of things, I'll take a vote. Should Raven and Robin end up together in this story, or should he stick with Starfire? Or even if he does break up with her, should he end up with Raven? Review and let me know!


	8. When We Were Young

I have had this opening scene in my head for a while now, and getting it written seems kind of surreal. We're getting so close to the end of the story that it's weird for me, wrapping up ideas I've had since the beginning.

Anyway, enjoy.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Chapter 8

Raven sat on the floor in her pajamas, playing cards with Beast Boy. She had gotten out of the hospital at last, her powers returned to her, and she was completely healed, though she still couldn't remember why Ra's al Ghul had kidnapped her.

She hadn't seen Robin since that day in the hospital. He had come back from whatever it was he was doing, but he looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in weeks. Odd, since he had been fine before he had left.

Raven wondered where he was. There were only three days left of their two week vacation and she was starting to worry. The others said nothing though, and she suspected that they had seen the Boy Wonder more recently than Raven had. That was strange, since he was her best friend. She wondered idly if he was avoiding her.

He had said that he believed that it was his fault that she had gotten kidnapped, but Raven wondered if he didn't lame _her_. After all, the only other time he had neglected his friends he had been on a mission to stop Slade. Perhaps he was planning on going after Ra's al Ghul in the same fashion?

She slapped down a card, not thinking about the game she was playing, even knowing that she was winning it. She felt ridiculous and wanted to go find Robin and drag him out of whatever he was doing by the collar, demanding he go to the beach or play cards or do _something_ with the rest of them.

With her.

Honestly, she was sure the others had seen him, though she couldn't figure out when he had been around them when she wasn't. Robin had been right; the vacation had been good for them and had done a lot to bring Raven out of her shell and closer with her other friends. But what about Robin himself? He was her best friend and she wanted to spend time with him, and not only to ask him where the hell he'd been, what in the world he had been doing…

Raven knew he was in his room now; she could sense his aura there, strong and bold. Was he pacing, or perhaps just cleaning in anticipation of leaving the villa?

She decided that he had to be cleaning. Now that things were back to normal, he had no reason to be pacing around. That part of him had grown up, all but been erased. He couldn't be obsessing over Ra's. If he was, she wasn't going to let him. She was going to _force_ him to think about something else, _make_ him see that obsessing over it was pointless. Ra's was in prison anyway…

_Yeah, a Mexican prison_, Raven thought. She of all people knew just how badly corrupt the Mexican justice system was.

She really wasn't paying attention to the card game with Beast Boy, and she finally had had enough of listening to Robin pace back and forth. She slammed her cards down suddenly and jumped up, apologizing to a startled Beast Boy, telling him that she would be back after she dealt with something, leaving what that something was to the changeling's imagination.

Raven walked right up to Robin's door and knocked, not waiting for him to answer. She walked in to see his room of mess and papers, his blue eyes looking up at her, surprised, from where he had stopped pacing before she'd come in. She looked around, her fears confirmed by what she saw. She picked up a pair of swim trunks she saw on the floor and threw them at Robin's head. Without a word, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him forcibly out of his room.

"You are going to go in the bathroom and change right now, Boy Blunder," she told him. "I'm going to go in my room and change, and then you are going to get on your motorcycle and we are going to go to the beach, no questions asked. Get it?"

He nodded mutely, though his eyes seem hard and flat, and turned into the bathroom obediently. Raven followed his suit, though to her own room, and changed into her bikini, slipping on a tank top over it and ready to beat Robin senseless if he didn't have an attitude check.

XXX

When Raven suggested that they take Robin's bike, she hadn't really thought about it. The idea of having to straddle him, her hands around his waist, while he drove at ridiculous speeds didn't exactly appeal to her. So, instead of mounting, she simply looked at the bike, hands on her hips, unsure what to do.

"Come on Rae, I'm not getting any younger,"

His voice was cold and biting, despite his use of the nickname. Raven didn't know whether she wanted to smack him or come up with some biting comment of her own, but in the end, she just sighed.

"Stop it, okay? I was going to wait until we got to the beach and had a little time to ourselves to talk to you about this, but really, Richard, stop it."

He looked up at her like he didn't know what she was talking about, his eyes still cold. "Stop what? I don't know what you mean."

She came around from the back of the bike to stand at Robin's side, her hand on her hip and her black beach bag hanging from her shoulder. "You know exactly what I mean, Blunder Boy. You may think I don't notice when you're not around, but you're my best friend, and I do. I know that you're avoiding me, and just _me_, because if you were avoiding any of the others, someone would have said something. I can't pretend to know exactly why, and I mean to talk to you seriously and properly about it. So I will get on this death trap, you will drive it to the beach, and we will continue this conversation there. Got it?"

He nodded seriously and she got on the back of the so called "death trap", wrapping her arms around Robin's waist. "If you let me fall off," she warned "I will personally kill you, and it's won't be a pleasant death."

He chuckled, but it was broken depressed sound, and it brought visions of Slade slamming into Raven's brain. _Oh, Richard_.

He got them to the beach rather quickly, Raven burying her head into his back to avoid seeing the world blur by, to keep her from worrying about the speed. Robin dismounted and kicked off the jeans and shirt he had donned for the ride and Raven did the same, though she kept her tank on, self-conscious as ever around Robin. He ran to the water, straight in, the approach he always took. Except when he was dealing with people.

Or was that just how he was with Raven?

Sighing, Raven ran after him, crystal clear water lapping around her ankles as she chased him through the surf, laughing despite the fact that she knew he was trying to get out of the situation. She kicked water at him when she got close enough, soaking his hair. She saw a smile peeking out at the corner of his mouth, a sign that he wasn't completely lost to her. She splashed at him again, so powerful that he fell over, stunned, looking up at her like a baby bird.

Raven laughed and plopped down in front of him, tucking her black hair behind her ear. Robin's wet hair, so similar to her own, hung limply in his eyes. The expression on his face was so comical that Raven couldn't help but laugh. She reached out and swept the offending hair away from his eyes, solemn and yet dancing with joy at the same time.

Her hand lingered on Robin's face for just a moment to long, and he took it and twined his fingers with hers. His expression looked torn between being completely content and happy and being at war, off center. He brushed the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip, and she froze, completely still. He was leaning towards her and she felt her eyes fluttering shut, though she couldn't find a reason why. He had kissed her that once, in the hospital, but that had been a heat of the moment thing, done because she told him that she didn't want him to be Batman…

She opened her eyes to see him staring at her, almost frozen, his thumb still on her lip, his hand still in hers. He was hurting, and she could see that, though she dared not pretend that she knew why. Was it because of something she had done? Had her lack of responsibility actually hurt him?

She pushed his hand away from her face, only briefly taking note of the look of hurt on his face before she lunged at him and wrapped him in the tightest hug she could muster. He was slack with surprise at first, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his chest. It was an uncharacteristic show of emotion for both of them, even for all that they were alone.

"Don't worry about it, Rick," Raven whispered, voice thick with feeing. "Not one bit of it. I don't want you obsessing about him like you did with Slade. Leave it to Batman, I'm begging you. Let them figure out what happened and why. Don't get involved, I'm begging you."

Robin pulled away, shocked, and Raven sat back down in the sand in front of him. She knew that he would take her seriously; Raven didn't beg, and if she said she was indeed begging, then it was something to be taken to heart.

"I was involved the very second he took you, Raven," he told her seriously and he heard her inhale sharply.

"I'm not saying you weren't. But I am saying that I don't want you to get any more involved. I don't want to loose you."

He was quick about his movements this time, and as he drew her in, Raven couldn't help but want to slap him and kiss him back at the same time. Horrible scenarios of Starfire walking up and seeing her boyfriend kissing Raven, lowering her into the surf like a lover, made the bird sick to her stomach. And yet, at the same time, she enjoyed the sensation of his hands at her neck and waist, respectively. She knew what would happen if one of their friends walked up and saw them, but she felt like her brain was shutting down with the sudden onslaught of emotion and sensation. No one had ever touched so much…

Robin groaned and rolled away into the water, his hair floating behind him and his arms out spread eagle. He looked at Raven with a guilty expression as she sat up, once again tucking her hair behind her ear. What was with is sudden interest in her, anyway?

"I don't know why I didn't see it before," Robin was muttering, knowing Raven was trying to get herself under control and wasn't paying attention. He studied her openly, watching her black hair float in the gentle breeze. He could still see streaks of violet beneath the black and wondered if she had dyed it, knowing she hadn't. He would have noticed if she'd used dye. Black was her natural colour.

Why hadn't he seen it before? He supposed that it was because she had been right under his nose the entire time, being his best friend and nothing else. He knew better than most that men never saw the woman right under their noses, that it was always the ones on the other side of the room that caught their attention…

Starfire had been the one on the other side of the room, and Raven the one under his nose. Somehow, everything was just now starting to click. Had that been why he had been avoiding her? She had been right; that was exactly what he had been doing. He knew her so well that he had been able to anticipate where she would be and when, lurking around corners to make sure that he wouldn't run into her, that he wouldn't see her.

Shouldn't that have been evidence enough? he speculated. He knew her so well that he knew her schedule even when she didn't have one, and he didn't even notice that he was attracted to her. What kind of detective was he if he couldn't even see the most obvious of things right in front of him when they involved his personal life? He felt like an idiot.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or are we going to actually resolve something, Boy Blunder?"

He had to laugh at her tone of voice. Always impatient, that one. "How does both sound?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, don't start. I'm not going to have you following me around like some lovesick puppy. Now talk. You have a choice to make, and you need to think very seriously on it. Because, face it, you're coming to all sorts of realizations right now, realizations I came to a long time ago. Nothing's at stake for me, but everything's at stake for you, and you can't have both of us."

Where Robin danced around the problem, Raven was blunt about it, direct in a way that Robin admired sometimes. Other times, not so much. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

Raven laughed. "I was just thinking how you never just dive into your people problems like you do with other stuff. You just gave me a prime example of that. This isn't a choice I can make you make. It's something you need to do on your own and I can't do it for you."

Robin sighed. "But can you at least help me make it? I mean, either way, you're involved, aren't you. And what if things don't change?"

Raven leaned back, her arms behind her, her hands digging into the sand. Robin thought the lighting very becoming to her skin; it made her look backlit from behind. "I don't think I _can_ help you, Richard. It might sway you one way when you feel you should go the other. All I want is for you to be happy. My happiness, or even Starfire's, comes second to yours. If you decide that we've been friends to long to be anything else, then that's fine, as long as you're going to be happy. And I don't mean content, I mean _happy_. I think you need to sit down with Starfire and decide which path you're going to take and which one is going to make you the happiest."

He looked at her with serious eyes, wondering how someone so young could gain so much perspective. "What if all I want in the world is _your_ happiness?"

She laughed and flipped her wet hair out of her face. "Well, then your choice shouldn't be hard to make. But it isn't one you're going to make right now. As a matter of fact, it's one I don't _want_ you to make right now."

Robin stared at her. Most girls he knew would demand he make a choice on the spot, would insist that he tell her what he had decided without any time to actually think about what he was going to do. Raven was different.

Maybe she was helping him make his choice after all, even if she didn't know it…

He jumped up suddenly and gave Raven his had to help her up. She took it and bounded up, but Robin wouldn't let go of her hand.

"Geez!" she exclaimed, ripping her hand out of Robin's. "It's like you don't even to a word I say!"

He laughed light heartedly and threw her a towel. "I listened to every word you said. Maybe I was just admiring how soft your hand is?" _Or how right it feels in mine…_

She rolled her eyes as she ran the towel over her hair. "Shut up and get on the bike. I need to get this sat out of my hair. Don't ever knock me into the sea ever again, or so help me, you will regret it."

_Every now and then I have the feeling I've totally lost my mind. It's a great feeling, and I'm experiencing it right now._

He laughed again as he slipped on his jeans over his trunks. "Dually noted. Dually noted."

END CHAPTER

BAHAHA! I feel almost bad about leaving it that way with no real resolution except Robin realizing that he's really stupid. Almost, but not really…

So how was it? I have a thing for angsty Robin, so I wrote him in. I hope I wrote him well! I felt like he'd be royally pissed after the episode with Ra's, but like it was a rage that he didn't understand and doesn't really make much sense. Coz let's face it; nonsense angst looks good on our Boy Wonder ;P

This chapter's comic quote was the thing about the feeling of loosing one's mind. I think our dear one is probably feeling like that just now…

So, if anyone's interested, I've done some art for this fic. I've done one of Raven in her dress from the ball and one of Raven and Robin sitting on a fence outside the villa, Raven looking like she's ready to smack Robin with her book. That hasn't been written yet, but it's coming. If you want to see either pieces there's a link to each of them on my profile. All you have to do it click on them and it will take you right to the art.

So most of you who reviewed voted for Raven and Robin just outright getting together. I'm not going to say it's going to happen, but I'm also not saying it won't. Saying it happens one way or the other kind of would spoil the rest of the story, and I don't want that to happen. In the mean time, however, I would like to point you back to the first chapter and some things Raven dreamed. That's going to come to be a plot point somewhere soon.

I'm going to hazard a guess and say that we've only got two chapters left before this thing gets wrapped up. I'm not sure if one of those chapters is going to be an epilogue or not, but that's pretty much where things stand.

Review and let me know what you think of everything!


	9. Did

So, the long and short of things is that my laptop has a virus and won't let me access the Internet. This is sad. So this chapter is coming to you from the publicly accessible desktop that we own, and probably won't be as good because I'll have to be writing it where everyone else can read it and can bother me while I'm doing it. We'll see.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Chapter 9

Starfire was not, by any stretch of the imagination, stupid. She watched and observed just like any girl, and she was protective of _her boy_ just like any other girlfriend would be. So when Raven and Robin came back from their trip to the beach, she could tell something was up. Raven was flushed, and not just from the sun, and when Robin looked at her, he blushed just the same.

But however perceptive Starfire might be, she really didn't understand what was going on. Until their impromptu trip to the beach, Robin had been avoiding Raven, that much Starfire knew. She also knew that Raven had figured it out, too, which was why they had gone to the beach together. They were back now, and clearly not the same as they had been before they'd left. What had changed so drastically?

The two resident birds each went their separate ways, Starfire watching them, noticing the brief touch they shared before parting. They both smiled, and Starfire frowned. Something was going on between them, and she wasn't entirely sure she approved of it – whatever _it_ was.

XXX

Robin had to admit that he didn't know what to do. Everything made sense now – why he had been jealous at the ball, why he hadn't liked Kyle, why he valued every touch, every look he shared with Raven, but…

Things were never as simple as all that.

Robin sighed as he collapsed on his bed. In three days they were going back to Jump, back to being heroes. He wasn't sure what exactly that entailed. Would everything go back to normal? Would it be just him and Starfire, together in their own little world? Would his friendship with Raven go back to its same routine?

He didn't have the answer to any of the questions, but he was fairly certain that things had changed far beyond his control. That was probably the thing he hated the most about the situation – the lack of control. Robin was just the type of person that needed to control every aspect of his life, and when he couldn't, things tended to not over very well for him.

This was one of those things he couldn't control even if he tried. These were emotions, and they clearly couldn't be controlled; Raven herself had proven that simply by admitting that she had fallen for Robin. And she was the queen of controlling her emotions.

He sighed at the knock at his door, hoping it was Raven coming to him for more private conversation. He felt grounded when he was with her, like it didn't matter that she was sort of like his second girlfriend, the one he cared more for, but the one who was undemanding about the relationship they had. Starfire wasn't going to be happy when she found out what was going on.

He called for his visitor to come in and was disappointed when it was his _real_ girlfriend, and not Raven as he had hoped. She smiled kindly at him and sat next to him on the bed, reaching for his hand and threading her fingers through his. He had to fight to avoid yanking away his hand. He knew that he had to think things through, but he was almost positive that it was going to end with his breaking up with Starfire. He didn't want to keep pretending that his relationship with Starfire was okay – it was too much like leading the pretty alien on.

"Is something the matter, Robin?" she asked, and he laughed inwardly. Raven was the only one who ever called him Richard, or even Rick. The others knew his real name, though not his background, but somehow they just couldn't associate the real him with the him that was Robin.

"No, Kori, everything's fine. I'm just… thinking."

She seemed content with his answer, and he couldn't help but hear what Raven's response would have been in his head. _Yeah, I can see that. Now tell me what's bothering you, Richard._

He had to keep himself from sighing out loud, lest he alert Starfire that something actually _was_ wrong. They frequently just sat together holding hands, lost in thoughts. Starfire was a kind, loving girl, and Robin knew he had had feelings for her at one point in time but…

Things had changed, and drastically. He could no longer be with Starfire now that he knew how he felt about Raven. It would be leading both of the girls on, and he knew that both of them, if scorned, could and would kick his ass without so much as thinking about it. Still, he didn't know how to tactfully break up with Starfire. Even if he didn't start dating right away, he was leaving Starfire for Raven, and it would eventually become obvious.

"Kori," he said, sitting up. "We need to talk."

She smiled at him, but it was a sort of mournful expression, and it suddenly occurred to Robin that Starfire was much more intelligent that most people perceived; she had probably at least noticed that something was going on when he had come back to the villa with Raven smiling and blushing like a schoolboy. He blushed suddenly crimson, feeling like a small child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Well, this is awkward," he muttered, running his hand through his hair. He saw Starfire nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Please, Robin, I understand that thing have changed between us. I also understand that Raven is your best friend and has been at your side in ways I could not be. If it is your choice that we should do the breaking of our relationship, I understand. I may not wish it to happen, but I will remain your friend even if you do not wish me to be your girlfriend any longer."

Robin felt a bit sad as she slipped her hand from his, wishing for all the world that things didn't have to end the way they were. "I'm sorry, Kori. I know it isn't fair to you. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't realize how I feel about her until after Ra's al Ghul kidnapped her. It's not like I was thinking about her the entire time we were together."

Starfire laughed, an almost bitter sound that Robin was sorry he had created. "No, my friend, I believe that you thought of her quite often over the course of our relationship, you were only to blind to see it."

He said it before he could stop himself. "And you did?"

Starfire smiled a sad, wistful smile and nodded. "I did. I thought perhaps you might grow out of it and come to love me as you love her, but as time progressed I realize that it was not so. But I blame neither of you, and I believe that no one will be surprised when you tell them that you love her."

Robin was surprised at Starfire's words. "I don't love her, Kori. I mean, not like that, and not yet anyway. She's my best friend and I care about her, but loving her is taking a bit far."

Starfire patted her now ex-boyfriend's leg affectionately. "Think what you will, Robin."

She got up and left, then, leaving the Boy Wonder to his thoughts, leaving him thinking that breaking up sure had been easier than anticipated, and wondering if that was a good or bad thing.

XXX

Raven was in the kitchen cooking, hair pulled up in a pony-tail wearing sweatpants, when Robin walked in. He went absentmindedly to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice and began chugging it. Raven called his name and then waved a spoon at his when he didn't hear her. "Hello, Richard? Earth to Richard?"

He finally heard her and turned to face her, orange juice bottle still in hand. He smile sheepishly and put it back in the fridge, not exactly knowing what he was going to say to her.

"Kori and I," he began. "we broke up."

Raven blinked at him for a moment, unsure of herself, and then hugged him. "I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "I know it must be hard."

Robin pulled away from her and laughed. "Well, not really. When I told her that we needed to talk, she saw it coming, and she sort of broke up with me. It's all making my head spin."

Raven rolled her eyes and turned back to her cooking. "That doesn't make it hurt any less, Richard. You're shell shocked, I can see it."

Shell shocked?

"I am _not_ shell shocked, Rae." he argued, but Raven just laughed.

"You can't see the look of total shock on your face. Even if you went in to the conversation knowing that you were going to break up with her, you can't believe that it's really over. So yes, you _are_ shell shocked."

He couldn't argue with her logic. "I guess. I mean, I knew we weren't going to stay together after what happened with you and me at the beach, but… it's different. She was my girlfriend, you know? And now she's not, and it's kind of weird."

Raven shrugged, plopping her cooking on two plates and handing one to Robin. "I guess. Eat up and don't worry about it. We'll get back to the Tower and things'll start to go back to normal."

She saw the expression on his face, a look of mischief and amusement and she couldn't help but laugh herself. "Okay, so maybe not completely normal. But normal enough."

END CHAPTER

So this chapter took me longer to write because I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it and then it was really short. That, and I went to Comicpalooza on Saturday and all around had the best day of my life. There was a Nightwing there and I yelled "OI Grayson!" at him, and he had this really funny expression on his face like he didn't know what to think. I also took a picture with him, if you want to see it. Once again, the link is on my profile.

Review and let me know what you think!


	10. Epilogue

This brings us to the end.

Mayhem in Mexico  
Epilogue

Raven cooked a lot these days. She was in the kitchen at Titans Tower now, making lunch for any of those that wanted it, humming quietly under her breath. The smell of her cooking wafted up to her nose, the smell of chicken tacos, a new team favourite. She had cooked it for them every Tuesday since they had gotten back from Mexico, glad for a real home cooked meal and not take out every night.

Raven looked back on the vacation fondly. So much had changed so quickly that it left her head spinning, sometimes, when she thought about it, but she was, in the end, glad she had given in to Robin and gone with them to Mexico.

She was sure Starfire was less pleased about things. Raven knew the little alien was very upset over her breakup, even if she made a point of not showing it. In a mutual respect for Starfire, Raven and Robin were waiting to make their relationship official, but it was no secret how they felt about each other, now.

She smiled fondly at the memory of their last day in Mexico. Raven had gone on an expedition to find anything interesting in the landscape around the villa, hoping to find something more interesting than cacti and brush. She had come across a spring with a bit of land overhead that suggested that someone had once tried to form a bridge out of the rock above. Sticking her toe in the cool water, she decided that it would be refreshing enough for a swim. So, hot and sweaty from her exploration, Raven walked into the water, her long black skirt floating around her in billows.

She had heard Robin coming not long after, and when she saw him, he was in nothing but his swim trunks, a white towel draped over his arm. She had, at first, suspected that he had known she was there, but when he finally spotted her, he looked almost embarrassed to find her waist deep in the water with her skirt doing almost nothing to preserve her modesty.

He looked confused. "Raven? Why are you… um, swimming?"

She looked up at him with amused eyes, the hint of a smile playing at her lips. "I was exploring, Bird Boy," she answered, splashing a bit of water at her friend.

Robin chuckled and discarded his towel on the ground nearby, getting into the water and wading to where Raven was standing. "That doesn't answer my question, Bird _Girl_."

Raven rolled her eyes at him, splashing him again, if only to ease the sudden tightness she felt in her stomach. "Make a connection there, did you, Richard?"

He shrugged and playfully splashed her himself, soaking the rest of her body. "I guess I finally did."

Raven rolled her eyes again and summoned a wave of her power to crash water over Robin's head. He laughed jovially and kicked his way through the now deeper water to where she was standing, arms crossed, and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You look cute when you're sulking," he informed her, and she laughed.

"I'm not sulking, I just don't like being sopping wet," she replied.

Robin had shrugged and moved into kiss her without another word.

They didn't show that kind of affection in front of anyone. Occasionally they would hold hands if they happened to be sitting next to each other on the couch, somewhere where Starfire would not be hurt if she saw it, but things otherwise remained fairly the same. Sometimes Robin would say something to Raven that he perhaps wouldn't have said before Mexico, and Raven would blush, but things hadn't changed significantly.

The one thing that had changed, though, was their Friday nights. More often than not, Robin would show up at Raven's door in jeans and a t-shirt, maskless, and grab her by the wrist, demanding that they should go see a movie. The others knew they did it, but they didn't know about the stolen glances at the theatre. They had already gone to see Pirates of the Caribbean four times, but Raven was sure that she wouldn't be able to describe it to anyone, should they ask. She had been far too busy with Robin.

Raven returned to the present and noticed that Robin was standing in the doorway, watching her. She smiled kindly at him but went back to her work, mixing up taco seasoning and browning the chicken meat. He came up behind her and leaned down to smell the sauce, smiling as he did so.

"Smells great, Rae," he told her.

She scowled. "You always say that. And it better smell "great" because it takes bloody forever to cook chicken. I really should recruit some help."

Robin smirked. "I'll go find Beast Boy; maybe he'd lend you a hand."

"Har har, you big clown," she responded, tempted to smack him with her dirty wooden mixing spoon. You're here, you help me."

Robin obeyed and took the mixing spoon from her, giving her a light kiss on the cheek as he did so. Raven rolled her eyes, though she appreciated the little show of affection. It was like he was in his own little world with her, and she enjoyed being a part of it.

THE END

Wohoo! I finished a story! That's a first!

Anyway, that was a really short epilogue, and I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to wrap things up in a nice little bow and be done with it.

If anyone's interested in a sequel, let me know. I know there were a few loose ends regarding Ra's al Ghul and if anyone wants that touched on, I'll do a sequel in which Robin leaves and become Nightwing after Jason Todd's death. If not, I'll leave it as it is.

Also, I've started a new fic called Monsters, Raven centric, and she goes back to Azarath and there's a war and a lot of other interesting stuff. I'm really proud of it and I feel like it's going places fast, so go read it, if you're interested. Again, it's called Monsters, and you can find it on my profile.

Thank you to all my loyal reviewers who have loved this story from the start. It's really hard to believe that I started this story two years ago and just how different it was back then. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I know I did.


End file.
